Jim Naughtie says of Ed Stourton's sacking: "it's horrible"

On the day that the number of signatories to Mandrake's petition to save Ed Stourton exceeded the 1,000 mark, Jim Naughtie has finally put an end to the deafening silence of his fellow presenters on the Today programme.

Tim Walker

10:00PM GMT 18 Dec 2008

Naughtie tells me that there was a great deal that he would like to say about "the whole horrible business", but that he – and John Humphrys, Sarah Montague and Evan Davis – are bound by a confidentiality clause in their BBC contracts.

Giving an insight into the behind-the-scenes tensions on the programme, the Scotsman adds: "We may not like it – we don't – but there it is. You'll notice that John hasn't been quoted by name since the whole horrible business began; nor has any other presenter. That doesn't mean that there hasn't been a lot of talking internally I can assure you that there is a great deal of noise."

After just three days, the number of signatures to Mandrake's online petition at www.telegraph.co.uk/stourton stood at 1,300 on Thursday with many Today listeners saying they are appalled that Stourton is going when the disgraced Jonathan Ross is returning. Yesterday, Ceri Thomas, the Today programme's editor, again declined to respond to the concerns raised by the people who continue to sign the petition.